The Conversation

Israel suspends formal annexation of the West Bank, but its controversial settlements continue

Written by Dov Waxman, Director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Israeli security forces clash with a Palestinian protesting the construction of Jewish settlements and a 'separation wall,' village of Ramallah, West Bank, Aug. 7, 2020. Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Editor’s note: In a historic agreement announced by President Trump on Aug. 13, Israel has suspended its plan to formally annex...

The US economy is reliant on consumer spending – can it survive a pandemic?

Written by Halina Szejnwald Brown, Professor Emerita, Clark University

The U.S. spends the most money on advertising in the world. Marketing and advertising spending in 2020 is projected to reach nearly $390 billion. Dan Mewing/Moment via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically affected the American economy, reducing spending by American households on materials goods, air travel, leisure activities as well as...

Almost half of US teens who date experience stalking and harassment

Written by Emily Rothman, Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University

Social media makes dating-related harassment and stalking that much easier.smartboy10/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

CC BY-ND

Falling in love for the first time can be a thrill, and teen dating is important to adolescent development. But according to the results of a study that my research team recently conducted, these early forays into...

La venta callejera hace más vivas, seguras y justas las ciudades, por eso pertenece a la escena urbana post-COVID-19

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Los vendedores de Eastern Market, Washington, DC, Estados Unidos.Geoff Alexander/Flickr

Alrededor del mundo, las ciudades empiezan a salir del encierro impuesto por la pandemia y gradualmente permiten el reinicio de actividades. Los líderes nacionales tienen interés en promover la recuperación económica, con precauciones...

After the civil rights era, white Americans failed to support systemic change to end racism. Will they now?

Written by Candis Watts Smith, Associate Professor of Political Science & African American Studies, Pennsylvania State University

Will white people's participation in Black Lives Matter protests yield real change?Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement, which crested after the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, had the support of less than half of white Americans.

Given that Americans tend to have a...

What should replace Confederate statues?

Written by Christian K. Anderson, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of South Carolina

Unveiling of a statue of Richard T. Greener, the first Black professor at the University of South Carolina, in 2018.Jason Ayer

Ever since the University of South Carolina put up a statue of Richard T. Greener – who in 1873 became the school’s first Black professor – one of my favorite things to do has been to eat lunch on a bench...

The pandemic has affected millions with other illnesses – here's how it affected a health professor's struggle with bulimia

Written by Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, Associate Professor of Agriculture and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University

A self-portrait of the author, who has found solace in her garden.Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, CC BY-SA

Control. What does it mean to lose control? For someone who has spent nearly half their life battling an eating disorder, losing control is about an extremely heightened awareness of numbers. Numbers I believe I can control.

Because I have an acute...

Political trolls adapt, create material to deceive and confuse the public

Written by Gianluca Stringhini, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University

Trolls get creative when looking to deceive.Planet Flem/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

Russian-sponsored Twitter trolls, who so aggressively exploited social media to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election, didn’t stop when Donald Trump was elected president.

Even after the election, they remained active and adapted their...

Why does some rain fall harder than other rain?

Written by Jeffrey B. Halverson, Professor of Geography & Environmental Systems, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A downpour or a drizzle: What causes the difference? David Pinzer Photography/Moment via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why does some rain fall harder than other rain? – Naomi B., age 9, San Fancisco,...

Up to 204,691 extra deaths in the US so far in this pandemic year

Written by Ronald D. Fricker Jr., Professor of Statistics and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Administration, Virginia Tech

The pandemic leaves its mark in the number of lives ended.Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

The Conversation, CC BY-ND

The number of deaths in the United States through July 2020 is 8% to 12% higher than it would have been if the coronavirus pandemic had never happened. That’s at least 164,937 deaths above the number...